Don't Ignore Natural Gas Odors! House Explodes in St. Paul, MN

[MineralMan]

About 8:30 this morning, I heard a loud boom. It sounded like an explosion somewhere. It turned out to be a house explosion near downtown St. Paul, a couple of miles from my own home. It took a while for the news to make it to the Internet, but here's a tweet showing the destruction. Apparently, three people were injured. More info at the Twitter feed where this image came from. Lesson is: If you smell natural gas, just leave your home immediately and call the Fire Department once you're outside.

Link to tweet

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. And don't turn on any lights or do anything electrical on the way out.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. Just leave as quickly as possible out the nearest exit.

Given the location, the leak was probably in the basement of the house. By the time the smell was detectable upstairs, it would be too late to check for any leak down there. But, people often flip the light switch at the top of the stairs to turn on the light in the basement. Bad idea.

I hope everyone in that house survived. I know the house, and have driven by it multiple times on my way downtown. It's noticeable because it sits diagonally on its lot, and is right next to a convenience store. One of our favorite restaurants is just down the street: Yarusso's.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Used to live in that

neighborhood in the early sixties. Hope the folks will be okay.